


Felicitas

by Suruntuoja



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boston Bruins, Gen, implied romantic feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18949417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suruntuoja/pseuds/Suruntuoja
Summary: ”I never expected my life would be like this.”





	Felicitas

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you @mayorwagner (Tumblr) for being my beta!
> 
> If you are a person mentioned in this story, please move along. This is a piece of fiction, written and published purely for fun.
> 
> \- -
> 
> I pledged to write and publish a new fic in case the Bruins won the Eastern Conference finals. And they did.
> 
> "In ancient Roman culture, felicitas (from the Latin adjective felix, "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness." - Wikipedia

”I never expected my life would be like this.”  
Tuukka paused after his words. He didn’t have to explain what he meant. Not for Zee. The man sitting next to him, watching over the Dorchester Bay, knew exactly what he was trying to say – felt the same way, too.  
They were two of the five remaining members of the 2011 Stanley Cup winning team. Soon would be their time to step back. Soon there would be only three, then, finally, none.  
Soon it would be time to give way to the next generation, to give them full reign.

Tuukka wasn’t old by any definition of the word, not even for a goaltender. Still, there were mornings he woke up, staring at the ceiling, wondering if he should just…  
”I guess no one ever does.”  
Zee’s words brought Tuukka back to the present. He looked at his captain for a long while. Of the two of them, Zee was much older. He had signed one more year with the Bruins and would repeat the action come next spring, unless his health gave up first. That was the only reason he’d ever stop – if even then.

There were a lot of things Tuukka appreciated in his captain. The ability to be calm and gentle, even soft, was one of those traits. Despite his enormous size, Zee was the epitome of the ”gentle giant”. Not that he couldn’t become angry and wreak havoc if need be, because he totally could, but the way he usually behaved was a far cry from what one might expect if you only knew his on-ice presence. His ability to stay level-headed and collected even in the most dire of situations was something Tuukka almost envied.

And, well, talking about things he would have never expected – Tuukka’s pulse went haywire every time Zee looked at him. He knew exactly why – of course he did, he wasn’t an idiot – but he also knew there was no way he would ever admit it. Not to Zee, not to anyone.   
To be the target of the captain’s attention sent a rush of adrenaline through his system, like it always did. Tuukka turned his eyes back to the bay.

Zee’s eyes never strayed from him. He could feel the gaze on his skin and almost hear the cogs turning. He had been careless lately, which had led to the captain noticing something had changed between them.  
Tuukka wasn’t going to say a word. He wouldn’t risk anything. And he knew Zee wouldn’t, either. Families, jobs, overall status, their friendship… There was too much to lose, for both of them.

From the corner of his eye, Tuukka could see the man shift a little. Zee lay his hand on the bench, palm facing up.  
It was a minor gesture, barely a hint of what was going through Zee’s mind. Yet it was enough to turn Tuukka’s world upside down and shake it to the core. ’But’s and ’what if’s ran through his mind faster than a sped-up review of a game seven.  
Tuukka closed his eyes and took Zee’s hand into his own.


End file.
